Hastings customers offered compensation for May 2024 water supply interruption
Households across Hastings affected by last spring’s loss of water supply incident are to receive compensation following a review.
Our review looked into what compensation we could offer to customers - outside our regulator's processes
At the time of the May 2024 incident, Ofwat guidelines stated payments under the guaranteed standards scheme (GSS) would not be required due to the location and nature of the burst water pipe which caused the outage.
Instead, to support the community – and in the wake of separate recent flooding incidents – we set up a £1 million goodwill fund, providing grants for businesses, community events, groups, and charities.
But we remained in discussion with Hastings Borough Council, MP Helena Dollimore and other community leaders over the question of compensation for individual customers. We promised to review options beyond the requirements of the compensation regulations that applied at the time.
Today (Thursday 6 February 2025), we met with the council to confirm that compensation will now be paid, in line with new higher compensation rates set out by the Government to start later this year.
By mid March we will write to all customers impacted last May, to provide details of the compensation they will receive. Customers do not need to contact Southern Water.
The compensation will run into millions, and comes in addition to the £1 million goodwill fund already committed.
Last year, Southern Water published an £80m Hastings investment plan to deliver performance improvements across the board, including building resilience into the water supply network, reducing storm overflows, and collaborating with other agencies to address flood risk.
Speaking after the meeting in Hastings, Antonia Barton, Chief Customer Officer at Southern Water, said:
“We’ve carefully reviewed our position on compensation for Hastings customers, having taken time to listen to members of the community about the impact this awful incident had on them, their families and their businesses.
“Although we followed the correct procedures at the time, as set out by the regulator, we’ve decided it’s right that we go further for the people of Hastings – and so compensation will be paid to everyone affected on an individual basis, at the new higher rates which come into force later this year.
"This customer compensation is in addition to the £1 million goodwill fund already supporting businesses, community groups and events.
“We intend this to underline our commitment to Hastings and the community here, and hope that it can mark the start of rebuilding trust among our customers in the town - we are listening, and we have a plan to put things right.”